Two weeks ago, in his first State of the Union and his second address to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump spoke about what his Administration had accomplished in the eleven months since his first address and set forth his vision for what he expects to accomplish this year. Here at Squire Patton Boggs we decided to take a closer look at the President’s message and provide that analysis to our clients, and our partners here at Meridian as a member of the Meridian Corporate Council. In our analysis, we provided an overview of the coming weeks...

Against the backdrop of a globalization that has many feeling more skeptical than optimistic, people are questioning existing notions of sovereignty. Nationalism is now being viewed as a rallying call for protectionism, rather than patriotism. This has fueled a false dichotomy between globalism and nationalism – particularly in the United States where leaders across politics and business along with every day citizens feel they must choose one path or the other. Given this context, how does a nation advance domestic interests while remaining globally engaged – and why is it vital in 2018? On October 20, 2017, over 150...

When we talk about the role and effectiveness of the United Nations, which institution are we talking about exactly? This is a question Ben Chang, a member of Meridian’s Rising Leaders Council and Managing Director at Burson-Marsteller, tackled at the start of the UN General Assembly in September as President Trump addressed the world body for the first time. Continue

As a newcomer to Meridian International Center, I was excited to attend my first Global Leadership Summit. Leaders in both the public and private sector gathered at the summit to discuss how to balance national interests and America’s patriotic values while embracing globalization. Throughout the morning, security emerged as a central theme to finding this balance. Specifically, the need to develop security between borders, within trade agreements, and across digitally connected systems. As a self-identified global citizen and someone with a daily dependence on technology, I was particularly eager to learn from political and business leaders about strategies to...

This article is reposted from the Center for Global Development (CGD) (February 23, 2017), which was originally written by Dr. Michael Pisa, Ms. Divyanshi Wadhwa, and Dr. Anit Mukherjee. Pisa is a Policy Fellow researching how technological innovation can support financial inclusion and how the withdrawal of correspondent bank relationships may affect remittance flows. Wadhwa works as a Research Assistant focusing on the unintended consequences of anti-money laundering laws on development. Mukherjee is a Policy Fellow that is currently researching the impact of fiscal devolution on sub-national health financing reform In developing nations including India. Continue